A couple years after that blog post, the kopitiam, along with the char kueh teow stall closed down. It was a tragedy, I was trying to look for a replacement go-to char kueh teow since then, a few other places came close, but none gave me that same “wok hei” in a plate of CKT as this stall

Still the best CKT in Klang Valley for me

Fortunately, the very same CKT is now back in PJ State, this time operating in the popular kopitiam next to UOB bank (the kopitiam also has very good roti bakar, seafood porridge, and braised duck at night).

I know it’s the same stall cos I can remember the operator, and interestingly enough he still recognizes me as fellow Penangites who moved to KL. He started operating CKT in this new location after an (I’m guessing unsuccessful) venture into operating a kopitiam.

I’m so glad this CKT man is back

The CKT itself is still just as good as I remember. It’s oily, spicy, and comes with all the ingredients you’d expect in a plate of proper CKT – cockles, prawns, Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, and the slightly wider version of kueh teow that is used here.

If you are looking for a plate of good char kueh teow, look no further than this plate of goodness at RM 4. 😀

I am one of those people who loves variety when it comes to food. In a typical week, I probably had Malay food, a variety of hawker food, maybe even Japanese, Taiwanese, Italian cuisine. It is very rare that I have the same dish more than once in the same week.

Cristang pork burger P7 (by request, not on menu)

But once in a while, a particularly dish come along that is so awesome I just had to have it twice in a row. The latest of such phenomenon come in the form of a very unique pork burger from Cristang Restaurant.

The first time I had it was on Wednesday, I went there again for the same dish on the very next night for dinner, and there is no doubt I would go to Cristang again many times more.

mushroom soup and bacon ribs curry (non spicy)

Cristang Restaurant is located at 8 Avenue in PJ State, a stone throw away across the big Police Station that handles all sorts of traffic accidents in PJ. 8 Avenue itself is a relatively new shop lots that has paid parking much like the concept of Plaza Damas.

The good: there’s always parking spaces

The bad: you have to pay around RM 2 for the spot

pork burger P7, Weihenstephaner beer, pork burger P5

At Cristang, their specialty is pork, and oh, they do serve beer, including the 3 types of Weihenstephaner.

To say the burger is unique is probably an understatement, it is a creation of art, something so ridiculously out of this world I am suspecting the chef probably has a very weird sense of imagination.

Who would have thought a little bit of diced petai in pork chili con carne (something similar to pork sambal at 6-10 nasi lemak , except actually better) with melted cheese, bacon, and that oh-so-juicy pork patty and buns could result in a burger that tastes so good?

My favorite animal meat in three different textures and three different tastes, with that fresh yet slightly pungent smell of petai, then there’s the cheese, the onion, tomato, and pickle. It’s just so goooood!

Did I mention that the wedges accompanying the burger is one of the best I’ve tasted from anywhere too? There’s a hint of rosemary to the potato, a mark that the chef doesn’t prepare the wedges just for the sake of serving the burger with some potato.

Well, other than the burger I’ve tasted the mushroom soup and the bacon ribs curry, they are good too, but I’m not sure when I’ll order other dishes and forgo my stomach space for P7 yet. We shall see.

My ex-housemate, Kerol, came over last weekend to pick myself and Horng up for lunch again last Saturday. As usual, we were not able to come up with any suggestion that could satisfy the girl. At the end, she decided to drive us to one of her favorite lunch places at PJ when she used to work.

The little hidden food court at PJ state located right opposite the big police station (if you have an accident anywhere in PJ, you usually end up there).

old school food court ala Medan Selera style

The place is a municipal built public food court that reminds me of those at PJ old town (with chicken rice), Seksyen 14 (with popiah), and the nasi lemak Tanglin. With plastic tables and chairs affixed on the floor that was as trendy as it was unpractical, especially if you have a larger group of people visiting at the same time.

We located stall number 4 that says Mee Bandung Muar (no I didn’t manage to try their mee bandung, perhaps next time) without much trouble and ordered lunch.

asam ikan pari and telur dadar

They serve three different types of asam fish: kembung (hard tail), pari (stingray), and tengiri (mackerel). But for some reasons, everyone asked for the stingray that day, most probably due to the fact that we’re a bit lazy to have to deal with any bones. We also ordered telur dadar (Malay style omelet) and rice.

the food court is located right opposite PJ State police station

The asam fish itself was pretty nice but I thought it could be slightly more spicy and more sour. I think this suits the KL taste a bit more as compared to the northern version that tends to be a bit stronger tasting. Adding their kicap (slightly sweet version of soya sauce) made it taste quite a bit better though.

Overall, it was still a pretty satisfying lunch for only RM 6 each per person, including rice and egg. Maybe it’s time to try a bit more from the same food court.

When it comes to pork noodle, I usually visit the famous SS3 pork noodle as I stay just a stone’s throw away.

I was introduced to this particular stall at PJ state by my ex-colleagues one particular lunch session, who described it as “pretty good also!”. Since I am always game for new foods and new places, why not?

note: This stall has been moved/closed down. If you know the where it is now please do leave a comment here.

The pork ball noodle stall is hidden inside Fook Yun kopitiam, which in turns has its sign board hidden and only viewable from the back of the building. However, it isn’t exactly tough to locate as this would be the kopitiam closest to the pedestrian-only streets opposite the MBPJ building.

Pork noodles come in either the soup, or dry version. The ingredients too, are slightly different, the dry version comes with marinated ground meat and a bowl of pork ball soup while the soup version has Lap Cheong (Chinese sausage) and pork balls. On the contrary, the SS3 version comes with meat, intestine, ground pork, and liver. So they are actually rather different.

ahh, glorious pork noodle

Taste wise, I find it to be pretty delicious in a different way. While the SS3 type is more oily and porky, this version carries the slightly sweeter taste thanks to the marinated ground meat or lap cheong. The pork balls were pretty big, has a firm texture to it, and tasted pretty good too.

As usual, you get to choose from vermicelli, noodle, kueh teow, or the combination of them as the filler.

Fook Yun kopitiam faces MBPJ building

A bowl of pork noodle here is slightly less than RM 5. I wouldn’t hesitate to eat there again.

On most “by invitation” food review sessions, there are PR representatives or the restaurant owner joining myself and other reviewers. Most often than not, the conversation will initially revolves around the food they serve, their restaurant, the company; but eventually to food in general and ended up with information exchange on the best food secrets in town.

The same thing transpired on the review at Dragon-i Pavilion. The PR couple Mr & Mrs Kong claimed to be the pickiest wan tan mee eater this side of Klang Valley, I told them I thought the wan tan mee at restuarant OK, SS2 is pretty good, while their recommendation was this place at Hock Lim kopitiam, PJ State.

this kopitiam doens’t even have a banner

The very same weekend after the review, Kong sms-ed me and said the wan tan mee I recommended was not up to their standard. It was then I decided that I must try this place, so Rachel and I went over to PJ State on Merdeka Day for breakfast.

It took a while for the noodle to be served, as the stall was apparently the busiest among the lot. However, true to Kong’s recommendation, it was really very good. The noodle with just the right amount of sauce, the pork wan tan with very soft smooth skin giving it a very nice texture and taste. Best of all, the char siu was really excellent, complimenting the noodle perfectly.

You can see how we appreciated it from the empty plates at the end of the meal.

hock lim kopitiam is facing MBPJ building

The stall is located at Restaurant Hock Lim which is situated on the same row as Saito College at PJ State.